


Break my nose, but don't break my heart

by aeroblue



Category: Cobra Starship, Fall Out Boy, My Chemical Romance, Panic! at the Disco
Genre: But mostly fluff, College, Houseparty AU, M/M, One Shot, Roommates, Some jealousy and angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-05
Updated: 2017-06-05
Packaged: 2018-11-09 12:08:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,462
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11104287
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aeroblue/pseuds/aeroblue
Summary: When Frank suggests they throw a houseparty, Gerard is skeptical to say the least.





	Break my nose, but don't break my heart

When Frank suggests they throw a houseparty, Gerard is skeptical to say the least. They only just started college so they don't know many people, but Frank doesn't seem to care.

'I invited Gabe from my class and he knows everyone, you'll see, there will be drinking games and people smoking _weed_ and maybe even some seniors!'

Gerard finds it difficult not to get a little bit excited when Frank is gesturing and grinning like crazy, so he makes the mistake of faltering and after that, it's all over.

'How would all those people fit in here?' Gerard asks desperately, waving around their little flat. Sure, they have a couch and some chairs, but more than ten people would already be a crowd.

'We all sit in each other's laps!' Frank exclaims.

'Well, what if someone breaks a window or steals my drawings or something?'

'You make more drawings and we use them to tape the window closed! Come on, Gee, I'll buy the alcohol.'

Gerard sighs and looks at Frank's hopeful face. Free alcohol does sound pretty good.

'Fine.'

 

\----

 

They go shopping for supplies the day before the party. Gerard invited two guys he met at a poetry reading, Ryan and Pete. They're both a bit peculiar, but it makes him feel better to know he won't be the only weird kid there.

'How many bags of chips should we get?' Frank's voice startles him.

'Uhh,' Gerard says brightly. Frank looks at him with his wide expectant eyes. 'I have no idea. Five?'

Frank adds chips to the growing pile in their cart.

'Are you sure we need this much stuff?' Gerard asks.

'I think you're underestimating how much drunk, slash high, teenagers can eat,' Frank replies seriously before mounting the cart and demanding that Gerard push him around the store.

They get salted peanuts, frozen pizza, pretzels, beer, vodka, and rum before deciding they have enough to satisfy a small army. Frank invites the cashier to the party.

'What?' he asks after they leave the store. 'He had a cool hat.'

 

\----

 

Their place fills up far too quickly. Gerard watches anxiously from the corner as a laughing group of friends gathers in the kitchen to put their beer in the fridge.

'Gerard!' someone shouts over the loud music.

Gerard looks around and notices Frank, who's motioning for him to come over. He's sitting on the floor in a circle with Gabe, Pete, Ryan, and a dorky-looking boy with a large forehead Gerard's seen around campus.

'We're playing King's Cup!' Frank beams up at Gerard.

Gerard smiles at everyone awkwardly and sits down between Frank and Gabe. Ryan and the other boy are in a half-embrace that looks very uncomfortable, but they both seem content.

'I don't know the rules,' Gerard admits.

'That's alright,' Pete says. 'You'll get it as you go.'

He hands Gerard a bottle of beer, from which Gerard compliantly takes a sip whenever he's told to. It's disgusting and bitter.

'Never have I ever,' Ryan says, holding out his card.

The boy next to him snickers. 'What are we, in middle school?'

'Shut up, Brendon,' Gabe says with a mischievous smile. 'This is where it gets interesting. I'll start!' He ignores Ryan's quiet protest that the person who picked the card should go first. 'Never have I ever had someone spit in my mouth.'

The group erupts in groans of “come on, Gabe!”. Gabe shrugs and, to everyone's disgust (and Pete's delighted entertainment), takes a sip of his cocktail.

'Anyway,' Pete says. 'Never have I ever... Made out with someone in this room.'

'Not yet,' Gabe mutters.

Ryan and Brendon clink their bottles together before taking a swig, but Gerard's heart skips a beat when he sees that Frank is also drinking.

'Who?' Pete asks Frank excitedly.

'That guy,' Frank laughs. He's pointing at a guy wearing a bright blue hat. The grocery store cashier, Gerard realizes.

He suddenly feels sick. He gets up and mutters “need some fresh air”. Frank's worried face flashes up at him. He stumbles through the sweaty crowd. His head is spinning from the alcohol and he's so warm he feels like he's about to pass out. A seemingly endless stream of students is pouring in from the front door.

'Great, no getting out through there,' Gerard mutters to himself, the awful taste of beer still on his tongue. He pushes his way to the balcony and reaches for the door. It's stuck. 'God damn it!'

He yanks the handle and with a loud creek the door flies open. A gust of cool air brushes by Gerard's face. Relieved, he leans down onto the withered railing, only to find that it's wet with rain. He pulls away, swearing under his breath and trying to pat his shirt dry to no avail. Puffing, he leans against the wall instead. Treetops obstruct most of the view, but he can see the moon shining brightly through branches.

His mind wanders to Frank, who's probably being the life of the party and making friends left and right. He's been that way since the day they both moved in. Gerard was instantly taken by his enthusiasm, the way his eyes lit up even when he talked about the most mundane things. Their unpacking was cut short when Frank noticed Gerard's record collection and they spent what felt like hours talking about Misfits, Black Flag, Queen, Bowie.

Gerard smiles absently. His smile fades as he remembers the feeling he got earlier. A nasty, toxic feeling. _Jealousy_ , his mind suggests, but that wouldn't make any sense – why would he be jealous of Frank? He shakes it off and turns to get back inside. As he walks toward the door, it flies open and Frank appears.

'There you are!' Frank says loudly, 'I've been looking all over for you!'

'Why? What's going on?' Gerard asks, surprised.

'I should be asking you, taking off like that.'

'Oh, it's nothing' Gerard says, trying to hide his guilt.

'You're an idiot if you think I can't see through you by now.'

He's right, Gerard thinks, Frank has gotten extremely good at reading him, even though they've only known each other a few weeks.

'Well?' Frank says. 'Out with it, what's wrong?'

'Nothing! I just really needed some air,' Gerard repeats.

'Oh, come-'

Franks words are interrupted when the old balcony door suddenly falls shut under the pressure of the wind. They're both startled but Frank turns back around quickly.

'Fine, Gerard, don't tell me, but you know I've got your back, right?'

Gerard nods slightly, looking down.

'Now,' Frank continues, 'Let's go grab another beer.'

Gerard frowns.

'Or something else,' Frank grins, causing Gerard to giggle in an undignified manner.

Frank opens the door. Or at least, he tries to. He turns the handle again and again, but it won't budge.

'It did that before as well,' Gerard says. 'You just gotta pull it hard enough.'

'That's what she said,' Frank stutters out in between yanks.

Within a second, the handle breaks free from the door and Frank's elbow flies back straight into Gerard's nose. Gerard stumbles back.

'Ow,' he says, covering his face.

'Shit, Gerard, I'm so sorry!' Frank says urgently, 'Are you okay?'

Gerard tries to stop the tears that are flooding his eyes and smiles.

'I'm fine, don't worry about it.'

Frank stares at him with horror.

'Your teeth are covered in blood. Come here.'

He helps Gerard sit on the ground with his back against the wall and kneels over him. He examines Gerard's face anxiously.

'Does your nose feel like it's broken?' he asks.

'I don't know, what's a broken nose supposed to feel like?' Gerard mumbles. All the blood makes it difficult to speak.

'I have no idea,' Frank says. 'Damn it.'

He stands upright and starts banging on the door.

'Open up, assholes!' he yells, but the music inside is blaring so loud that no one hears him. He turns back and looks at Gerard with a miserable expression on his face. Gerard attempts another smile and pats the ground next to him.

Frank sits down and starts patting his pockets. He retrieves a scrunched up napkin and a pack of cigarettes. He offers both to Gerard.

'Sorry,' he says, 'I don't have anything better.'

'Thanks,' Gerard says, smiling genuinely this time. He presses the napkin to his painfully throbbing nose and lights up a cigarette.

Frank takes a cigarette for himself and holds it loosely between his lips. He huffs out a laugh.

'I guess you were right, this party wasn't the best idea,' he says, looking into the distance.

'No, it's fine. I'm having fun,' Gerard replies quickly. To his own surprise, he's telling the truth. Sure, he had a bit of a mental breakdown, got elbowed in the nose and locked out of his own flat, but at least he's with Frank. Alone. No loud drunk people and no stupid cashier boy.

Frank laughs loudly. For a second Gerard thinks he accidentally said the cashier boy part out loud, before realizing Frank's laughing at the thought of him having fun sitting on the balcony floor with a bleeding nose.

Gerard blows out a cloud of smoke and looks over at Frank, who's still looking into the distance zoned out. He looks at his dark eyebrows, the arch of his nose, his half-lidded hazel eyes, the way his top lip curves slightly over the bottom one. Frank's eyes shift over to him.

'What?' he asks with amusement.

'Nothing,' Gerard looks away. 'So, uh... You and the grocery store guy, huh?' He lets out a nervous laugh.

Frank rolls his eyes with a smile.

'Yeah, I think that was just a one time thing. I've kind of got my eye out for someone else, to be honest.'

Gerard tries to act casual but his heart sinks.

'Oh, who?' he asks.

Frank shrugs.

'Just this guy I've been hanging out with.'

They smoke silently for a while. There's a round of cheers and whoops from inside. Gerard wonders what this guy looks like, what they do when they hang out. If they talk for hours or just make out in a corner somewhere. If they've taken it further than making out.

He furiously puts out his cigarette on the ground. Frank looks over at him

'How's your nose?' he asks.

Before Gerard can answer, the door is kicked open and Pete appears. He's surprisingly strong for such a small guy.

'There you fucking are!' he exclaims. 'Someone threw up on your couch. Hey, Gerard, why's your nose all fucked up?'

 

\----

 

The next day the flat is empty of people but full of garbage and wine stains. The smell of alcohol makes Gerard's stomach churn.

'Ugghhhh,' he mumbles. The couch is very uncomfortable and his arm is asleep.

Something moves next to him and his eyes fly open. Frank is asleep on his arm, his mouth slightly open, breathing quietly. Gerard panics a little inside and then reminds himself that it's fine, it's just his roommate. That doesn't stop his heart from racing.

He tries to pull his arm back as gently as possible, but Frank still wakes up.

'Oh, hey,' he says, his voice hoarse from sleep and cigarettes. He shifts so that Gerard can move his arm.

'Hey,' Gerard replies. Frank's face is too close for comfort. Gerard could count his eyelashes. His hair is a mess but his face looks far too good for someone who's just woken up with a hangover. Gerard doesn't even wanna think about what his own face looks like.

'How you feeling?' Frank asks.

'Uhh, like I'll drop dead the second I get up,' Gerard admits. Someone brought in delicious but deadly jelly shots and he may have had one or ten too many. Frank snorts.

'I meant your nose, actually,' he says.

'Oh,' Gerard says. 'It's fine.'

Frank reaches out to touch his nose gently and Gerard inhales sharply.

'Sorry,' Frank withdraws his hand quickly.

'It's okay,' Gerard says. The exhaustion must be making him brave and dumb because he reaches out and pulls Frank's hand back up toward his face.

Frank has a focused look on his face as he traces the ridge of Gerard's nose, pressing down slightly and observing Gerard's reaction.

'It seems alright,' he announces.

His fingers are still on Gerard's face but now they're tracing his cheek down to his jaw. Gerard freezes, staring up at Frank's eyes, but Frank is looking down, following his own fingers as they move down and cup the back of Gerard's neck.

Gerard's mind is completely blank. Then Frank leans in and softly presses his lips against Gerard's, and it's the longest second of his entire life. He forgets all about the sharp smell of alcohol and how uncomfortable the couch is. There's only Frank's face, so much closer than he's used to, Frank's hand resting on the back of his neck, Frank's breath tickling his skin.

Frank pulls away and they look at each other with wide eyes. Gerard clears his throat.

'What about that guy you're into?' he asks.

Frank laughs.

'Idiot,' he mutters before leaning back in and they're kissing again, more playful this time. Frank shifts so that he's hovering over Gerard. He presses into him slightly and the kiss becomes deeper, making Gerard's stomach twist, this time in a dizzying, exciting way. Gerard starts feeling more confident and runs his hands across Frank's back, pushing him even closer so that their hips align like two pieces of a puzzle. Frank takes a sharp breath and pulls back slightly to look at Gerard with darkened eyes.

A loud crash makes them both jump, Frank nearly falling off the couch.

'Whoops,' Gabe says. He's standing at the kitchen door, looking more smug than guilty. 'I tried to get out quietly.'

Gerard raises a hand to cover his burning face. Oh God, he thinks, there won't be a single person on campus who doesn't know about this by tomorrow. Frank laughs loudly and throws an empty beer can in Gabe's direction.

'Be safe, you naughty kids!' Gabe yells as he walks out of the flat with a spring in his step.

Gerard sighs and sits up, avoiding Frank's eyes. There are two painfully long seconds of silence before Frank stands up.

'Guess we should clean this place up,' he says.

Gerard hums in agreement and heads toward the kitchen. Frank grabs his hand and pulls him back.

'Just in case it wasn't clear,' he says, 'You're the guy I'm into.'

He gives Gerard a quick kiss and walks past him, whistling a familiar tune. Gerard laughs incredulously and turns to watch him walk away. His heart feels twice the size it was the day before.

 


End file.
